Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Allegory and Psychological Motif in Lyraka: The Lyrics, Part One

I have been asked often to expand upon what I mean by "archetype" and "motif" in my lyrics. The primary dichotomy that is expanded upon in the Lyraka opera is the one between land (the desert Errandia) and ocean depths (Lyraka). These archetypes were already inherent in Jasmine's screenplay, I just took the opportunity to expand upon them in my work.

Lyraka as a musical project draws inspiration from the operas of The Who, King Diamond, and Richard Wagner, as well as the guitar hero stylings and concept albums of Uli Jon Roth. The lyrics are influenced by the writings of Carl Jung, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Søren Kierkegaard.

Coronation

This song serves as an invitation to the opera, and coincidentally introduces a recurrent theme: the reinforcement of belief in an ideal via repetition, vivid imagery, and hyperbole. Through the use of these techniques, the protagonists of this song make the underwater empire of Lyraka seem to be a paradise, abstractly conceived and thus inherently imperfect.
Another primary theme introduced in the song is the dichotomy between the "world above" (Errandia, desert), and "below" (Lyraka, oceanic). These two landmarks are based upon archetypes that the psychoanalyst Carl Jung expanded upon. The ocean depths represent the inner depths of subjective experience, while the desert symbolizes the "real world", or how others see you. The desert also represents the place where one takes his or her dreams, in order to subject them to the harshness of reality and thereby submit to them to trial by fire. How the landmarks oppose, interact, and complement each other is a vital variable in the development of the Lyraka story.
The song features Graham Bonnet on vocals.

Scatherus

The opera character Scatherus is the anthropomorphic representation ofdespair, with lyrics influenced by both psychoanalyst Carl Jung's writings on the "shadow" portion of the psyche, as well as Saint Augustine's writings on the "felix culpa" and its relation to the Fall of Man. The lyrics refer to Scatherus as being an "entropic void", asserting that when the emptiness of despair is used as the quantitative measure of disorder in human experience, it reveals itself to be a vital, positive constant. This song features Veronica Freeman on vocals.

Beyond the Palace

This track features Graham Bonnet on vocals again, singing as the musical narrator. This song closes the album for good reason: following the epic despair and pervasity of negative self-talk in the suite "Scatherus-Errandia-Neires", "Beyond the Palace" attempts a reaffirmation of the starry-eyed ideals introduced earlier in the album, by both "Coronation" and "Palace Guard". This track is the most repetitive of the set, because mindful reinforcement can be required to continue belief in lofty ideals. Nietzsche's concept of self-overcoming is manifest in the lyrics "(by) knowing that it had to happen, you redeem your past". There are instances of irony in the track as well, most evidenced when Bonnet sings "ascend beyond the rainbow, all your fears are through", his voice cracking on "through".

I will continue this commentary on the rest of the tracks of "Lyraka Volume 1" in the near future. These exegeses are meant mostly to give you a base on which to think as you involve yourself more in the Lyraka saga, the permutations of my art are ample fodder for generations to come. In the meantime, please donate toward the release of Lyraka Volume 2 by Pay Pal to this address: lyrakametalopera@yahoo.com